As curfews rise and hangouts disappear, where do teens go?
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As Columbus leaders consider expanding youth curfew rules later this month, they're also confronting a broader question communities face nationwide: Where do teenagers go?
Why it matters: The decline of malls, cheap hangout spots and welcoming public spaces has left teens with few safe places to gather without money or access to a car, urban designers and youth researchers say.
- Meanwhile, policies that treat teens like a problem punish all young people for the actions of a few, teen advocates say.
Catch up quick: The latest local flashpoint came Friday night. Fights broke out among a crowd of hundreds of young people during an East Side church festival, prompting a significant police response with over 130 cruisers, WCMH-TV reports.
- Nobody was injured, but police arrested two teens, and the festival shut down a day early.
- City Council President Shannon Hardin says discussions about bumping up the city's curfew from midnight to 10pm were already happening, but the violence has added urgency to the situation.
- Council is also considering new measures that would "hold parents accountable if their children repeatedly violate curfew," per WSYX-TV.
What they're saying: "We have to have a more nuanced, longer conversation about how we continue to make sure that there are places and safe places for our young people to go," Hardin told reporters Monday.
The big picture: Columbus isn't alone. With few options, teens have organized large gatherings in cities nationwide, which officials have dubbed "teen takeovers."
- Other cities have also responded with curfews, though research shows they aren't effective.
- Some businesses, including Easton and Kings Island locally, also enforce "no unaccompanied minors" policies.
- All the while, kids face more loneliness in an increasingly digital world.
Even summer jobs are harder to find.
- Teen employment is on pace for its worst summer since federal tracking began, as rising inflation and higher fuel prices squeeze the small businesses and restaurants that typically hire them, the Wall Street Journal reports.
What we're watching: How strictly Columbus' new curfew is enforced — historically, it hasn't been, the Dispatch reports.
What's next: Council goes on summer recess in July and intends to move the new legislation forward beforehand.